This article argues that instead of using intrusive advertising brands should live their purposes by providing useful objects as part of their communication. View Summary

This article argues that instead of using intrusive advertising brands should live their purposes by providing useful objects as part of their communication.

People often bemoan the ubiquity of advertising, but actually there are lots of useful objects in the world that do not host advertising, and advertisers should look at their communications potential.

If brands were to take responsibility for the things relevant to their message they could provide a public service as part of their communications, rather than just interrupting people.

Brand purpose should be the starting point in this approach, with experiential, sponsorship, partnerships and product placement all good places to start.

2

Health and the high street: How retail, food and drink brands are shaping UK health with content

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Research on Warc, NewsCred, February 2015

This article demonstrates how UK consumers want to make better, more confident choices around health and wellbeing and how relevant brands can make the most of these opportunities. View Summary

This article demonstrates how UK consumers want to make better, more confident choices around health and wellbeing and how relevant brands can make the most of these opportunities.

47% of British consumers say they have become more health-conscious in the past 12 months but just 27% feel informed regarding health issues; brands can fill this gap because 76% say brands have a responsibility to provide consumers with health content.

Health-related content is improving consumer opinion of the brands that offer it but transparency is essential as consumers are suspicious of the agenda behind branded-food health content - the 65 plus age group is the most sceptical.

Consumers are particularly keen for supermarket, food and drinks brands to be more involved in delivering this kind of content but need them to go beyond calorie counts, which consumers find less useful than fat and sugar content, condition specific information and disease prevention information.

Examples of how brands have met this challenge include Boots WebMD, the pharmacy chain's health advice site, Sainsbury's Active Kids, the supermarket's scheme that encourages activity in children, and M&S Eat Well, the supermarket's campaign to help customers choose healthier diets.

3

C&A's four tips for success in Brazil

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, NRF Big Show, January 2015

This event report breaks out four key tactics which have helped C&A, the multinational apparel retailer, assume a leading role in its category in Brazil. View Summary

This event report breaks out four key tactics which have helped C&A, the multinational apparel retailer, assume a leading role in its category in Brazil.

This event addresses how JCPenney, the department-store chain, has bounced back after losing both customers and sales following a failed repositioning exercise. View Summary

This event addresses how JCPenney, the department-store chain, has bounced back after losing both customers and sales following a failed repositioning exercise.

Ditching discounts and promotions in favour of everyday low prices did not play well with the company's core clientele, who abandoned its stores in droves.

Returning to business as usual was not an option, however, as shoppers were making ever greater use of digital tools on the path to purchase.

In readjusting its priorities, JCPenney honed in on the idea of ?'fit', and helping buyers find exactly the right garment for them in terms of style, colour, shape, price, and so on.

To extend this concept across both online and offline channels, the retailer focused on three core tasks relevant to almost every shopper: find it, get it and make it worth it.

5

How Julep built a beauty brand on crowdsourced innovation

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, NRF Big Show, January 2015

This event report shows how Julep, a challenger in the beauty category, has effectively used the principle of crowdsourcing to create new products and build its brand. View Summary

This event report shows how Julep, a challenger in the beauty category, has effectively used the principle of crowdsourcing to create new products and build its brand.

Such is the firm's commitment to listening to female consumers that it even chose its name based on their feedback.

Having developed the capabilities to roll out hundreds of products a year, Julep has tapped customer wants and needs to fill its relentless pipeline of innovation.

Alongside comparatively simple ideas like identifying new colours of lipstick, it has crowdsourced insights for complex projects like creating a new way to apply nail polish, undertaken in conjunction with design consultancy with IDEO.

Ideas for marketing campaigns have also been drawn from this community, such as a plan to support the foundation established by Malala Yousafzai, the education campaigner.

6

Wells Fargo builds total-market insights

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Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, ANA Brand Masters, February 2015

This event report details how Wells Fargo, the financial-services group, is shifting its marketing strategy in line with changing demographics across the US. View Summary

This event report details how Wells Fargo, the financial-services group, is shifting its marketing strategy in line with changing demographics across the US.

Projections show that groups previously defined as "minority" audiences are set to make up the majority of the American population in around 30 years' time.

To stay ahead of changing market conditions, Wells Fargo is striking a subtle balance between total-market messaging and communications for specific groups.

Alongside focusing on inclusion, multiculturalism and ethnic sensibility, the firm believes that various "universal truths" should underpin its marketing output.

7

What we know about building brands

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Warc Exclusive, February 2015

This article provides marketers with information and guidance on building brands. View Summary

This article provides marketers with information and guidance on building brands.

Key themes include the role of communications; positioning and differentiation; building brand purpose; launching new brands; managing a portfolio of brands; leveraging brand extensions; building disruptive and challenger brands; and refreshing/revitalising brands.

A new model for brand building is emerging in the digital era, but 'traditional' advertising remains important.

A rising theme in branding is 'purpose', with some research showing impressive growth as a result of this strategy.

This article shows how Always, Procter & Gamble's feminine hygiene brand, engaged consumers in a new way by changing the conversation surrounding its category. View Summary

This article shows how Always, Procter & Gamble's feminine hygiene brand, engaged consumers in a new way by changing the conversation surrounding its category.

Traditionally, advertising in Always' category used scientific demonstrations or idealized imagery, neither of which fostered lasting connections with women.

In shifting the conversation, Always sought to address the loss in confidence that girls often feel when going through puberty, and which can take years to regain.

It core messaging, based around the tagline "Like a Girl", aimed to reframe how people used this expression, making it a term of empowerment.

The initial campaign video soon generated millions of hits on YouTube, and successfully sparked online and offline conversations, as well as building emotional engagement for Always.

10

Loyalty exists but not as we knew it

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Anita Black, Admap, January 2015, pp. 23-25

This article argues that building brand loyalty is still possible, though it is more difficult as people have more choices and shop across a repertoire of brands. View Summary

This article argues that building brand loyalty is still possible, though it is more difficult as people have more choices and shop across a repertoire of brands.

Loyalty still exists when brands focus on being useful and providing quality products and services, when they incite passion (often from being so useful), or when they help people express their passions.

People also develop loyalty because a product works for them or meets their needs, whilst the poorest quality loyalty comes from difficulty of switching.

To build loyalty, brands should learn lessons from human relationships and stay close to their customers.

But loyalty should not be the main objective because new customers are vital for growth, and the main goal should be being useful and adding value to people's lives.

11

Point of View: A tale of two pizza joints

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James Hurman, Admap, January 2015, pp. 7-7

This article argues that brand strategy should be quite simple: to provide a quality product with branding that stands out from the competition. View Summary

This article argues that brand strategy should be quite simple: to provide a quality product with branding that stands out from the competition.

The fortunes of two pizza companies in New Zealand are contrasted: Pizza Hut's value positioning, versus the newer Hell Pizza chain's distinctiveness and quality.

Instead of making products that are just 'good enough', focussing on quality with a valuable experience makes the most business sense.

12

Six routes to brand loyalty

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Jim Prior, Admap, January 2015, pp. 26-27

This article argues that brand loyalty is a consequence of a strong brand, and sets out six core principles to consider when building a brand. View Summary

This article argues that brand loyalty is a consequence of a strong brand, and sets out six core principles to consider when building a brand.

A brand needs a narrative to give it focus, direction and consistency, and a lighthouse identity that inspires the narrative and is recognisable.

Brands should take an holistic view of experiences, with every touchpoint an opportunity to differentiate, and the way it behaves and communicates should be consistent over time.

Trust is crucial in any relationship, and the same is true for brands: they should be transparent, own up to mistakes and invite honest criticism.

Finally, people must enjoy the way they experience the brand and humour can be a great way of connecting with people.

13

How a "superstar" product helped KitchenAid build its brand

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, The Market Research Event, October 2014

This event report demonstrates how KitchenAid, the appliances manufacturer, leveraged the iconic Stand Mixer as a device for driving up demand for the rest of its portfolio. View Summary

This event report demonstrates how KitchenAid, the appliances manufacturer, leveraged the iconic Stand Mixer as a device for driving up demand for the rest of its portfolio.

The Stand Mixer has long been a fixture in households across America, and enjoys huge practical and emotional resonance for consumers.

The product, however, often overshadows the rest of KitchenAid's product range, which covers customer needs across the kitchen.

In order to tap into, and extend, this enthusiasm, the firm set its sights on "passionate gourmands", a group who not only love the Stand Mixer, but were aiming to achieve perfection in all of their culinary activity.

Basing its marketing activity around this notion helped KitchenAid drive up its social-media engagement and core brand metrics.

14

Why brands need to "flip the fundamentals"

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Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, The Market Research Event, October 2014

This event report shows how brands can benefit from "flipping" conventions, based on examples including IKEA, Google and Mini. View Summary

This event report shows how brands can benefit from "flipping" conventions, based on examples including IKEA, Google and Mini.

As categories become cluttered, and brands fight for attention, many sectors simply become a sea of white noise.

"Flipping" conventions can help marketers achieve differentiation in response to rising commoditization.

Google provides a paradigmatic example, offering a clean white screen on its search engine, rather than promoting a raft of services like Yahoo and AOL did.

IKEA, the furniture chain, pioneered the idea of making self-assembly furniture a distinctive experience.

In the auto industry, Mini similarly made the small size of its vehicle a selling point, rather than a weakness, among American consumers.

15

How SunTrust dug deep to mix purpose and profit

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, The Market Research Event, October 2014

This event report breaks down how SunTrust, the financial-services provider, discovered and activated its brand purpose. View Summary

This event report breaks down how SunTrust, the financial-services provider, discovered and activated its brand purpose.

As a mid-tier bank with a range of national and regional rivals, the company needed to find a way to stand out from the crowd.

SunTrust dug into its 150-year history to understand its start-up story, and ensure it was being to true to these founding principles.

Through a multi-pronged research process, it found a consistent ethos in helping people with big dreams.

Such a mission was embodied both in a company-wide readjustment around this idea, from recalibrating executive remuneration to its marketing messaging.

16

Motrin provides relief for me-too brands

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Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, The Market Research Event, October 2014

This event report shows how "me too" brands can stand out, based on the example of Motrin, Johnson & Johnson's pain-relief product.

As the pain-relief category has witnessed little breakthrough innovation in the last few years, and regulation limits what marketers can say, consumers are often faced with a sea of sameness.

Rather than use conventional claims based around its speed, strength or long-lasting quality, Motrin wanted human truths to inspire its communications.

Based on the idea that saving time was a valuable commodity for consumers, the brand thus focused its messaging around helping shoppers achieve want they wanted to, rather than being sidetracked by a headache or similar problem.

This event report drills down into Cisco's brand transformation, and discusses how it is activating a fundamental shift in corporate strategy. View Summary

This event report drills down into Cisco's brand transformation, and discusses how it is activating a fundamental shift in corporate strategy. Having long excelled as a provider of networking equipment, the organization is moving towards becoming a provider of hardware, software and services. Thought leadership is a vital cog in the firm’s refreshed strategy, as it fuels new internal learning, engages buyers and ultimately helps drive sales. Content marketing plays an equally valuable role, being 62% cheaper than the traditional alternatives while generating three times the number of leads. Three further points of focus for Cisco are customer engagement, digitization and a laser-like focus on client needs.

This study is designed to investigate the effect of gay-themed advertising as well as consumers' gender, tolerance towards homosexuality (low vs high tolerance) and consumers' brand commitment (low vs high commitment) on attitude towards ad and attitude towards brand. View Summary

This study is designed to investigate the effect of gay-themed advertising as well as consumers' gender, tolerance towards homosexuality (low vs high tolerance) and consumers' brand commitment (low vs high commitment) on attitude towards ad and attitude towards brand. The study result suggests that people exposed to non-gay-themed ads had more positive attitudes towards the brand than did people exposed to gay-themed ads. The study findings suggest that ads featuring homosexual imagery could lead to negative brand evaluation. The study finds that heterosexual males exposed to such ads had less favourable attitudes towards the advertising and brand as well. The study finds that subjects with high tolerance towards homosexuality have more positive attitudes towards the ad and brand, and have higher purchase intention than do subjects with low tolerance. Furthermore, the results suggest that people with high brand commitment had more favourable attitudes towards ad and brand. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

This event report shows how Bank of America embarked on a transformative repositioning effort by tapping into the expertise of a diverse range of stakeholders, from politicians and community leaders to employees at all levels of its organisation. View Summary

This event report shows how Bank of America embarked on a transformative repositioning effort by tapping into the expertise of a diverse range of stakeholders, from politicians and community leaders to employees at all levels of its organisation.

Due to the economic crisis, the firm was seeking to transform its operations, and ensure that consumers, investors, social groups and policymakers could buy in to its new mission.

The firm's refreshed tagline, "Life's better when we're connected", served as the driving force behind its shift in focus, and united the previously disparate aspects of its portfolio.

Consulting further experts such as think tanks, academics and religious leaders - and formalising this process on an on-going basis - will help the company retain its focus going forwards.

23

Culture eats strategy: Tapping into local culture for brand success

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Low Lai Chow, Event Reports, Spikes Asia, September 2014

This event report looks at some of the best campaigns in Africa and India that have been based on an understanding of the local culture. View Summary

This event report looks at some of the best campaigns in Africa and India that have been based on an understanding of the local culture.

In the African context, themes that emerged include the role brands can play in promoting self-expression and social good.

There is also a rich vein of humour in culture clashes that can be exploited.

In India, too, brands have been able to get involved in social issues in various ways.

These have ranged from humorous allusions to corruption to the creation of movements for change.

This event report reveals how British Airways, the air carrier, discovered a revenue-generating opportunity through the intelligent use of analytics - winning a Grand Prix for the Jay Chiat Awards for Strategic Excellence as a result. View Summary

This event report reveals how British Airways, the air carrier, discovered a revenue-generating opportunity through the intelligent use of analytics - winning a Grand Prix for the Jay Chiat Awards for Strategic Excellence as a result.

With demand for business travel between the US and UK largely static, the company was keen to identify untapped sources of demand.

Through analysing a widely-diverse range of information, British Airways found that travelling from America to India presented an opportunity.

Leveraging emotional connections between family members in these two countries proved to be an extremely effective tactic, and one that played against many of the category conventions.

By focusing less on the flight experience and more on the reasons for travel, British Airways connected with customers in a new way.

25

Innovating with data: How DBS Bank is learning to become 'un-bank like'

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Low Lai Chow, Event Reports, Asia's Customer Festival, October 2014

This event report explains how DBS, the bank, is using data analytics and taking inspiration from other industries to innovate and grow in Asia. View Summary

This event report explains how DBS, the bank, is using data analytics and taking inspiration from other industries to innovate and grow in Asia.

As the bank's competition widens to include e-commerce companies, it is adopting 'un-bank-like' practices and approaches, focussing on customer needs to improve service.

This includes acting like an e-commerce company by collecting and using data, and encouraging consumers to share even more data - and making use of IBM's cognitive technology to build information into insight.

DBS has implemented several programmes to help it think more like a start-up, including 'human-centred design', 'Dragons' Den' style idea pitching and using more experimentation.

Three key trends in technology have grabbed the company's attention: wearables, the internet of things and digital intelligence.